Ribbon cutting held for Metrolink station connecting to Burbank airport

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), Metrolink and Hollywood Burbank Airport officials recently held a ribbon cutting-ceremony to celebrate the completion of a new Metrolink Antelope Valley Line rail station that will connect travelers with the airport.

The station will officially open to the public May 14. Crews began work on the new station in March 2017, and the project was built by C.A. Rasmussen, INC., of Valencia, Calif. The $15 million project was delivered on-time and under budget, LACMTA noted.

The station, based in the San Fernando Valley, is expected to help minimize vehicle trips on the I-5 freeway and roads in residential neighborhoods near the airport.

"More travelers are coming through our airports than ever before — and we're giving them new ways to get where they're going when the plane ride is over," said Los Angeles Mayor and LACMTA Board Chair Eric Garcetti. "This new Metrolink connection will seamlessly link our transportation network with the Hollywood Burbank Airport — while easing congestion in one of our busiest corridors."

The station's amenities will include rail ticket vending machines, benches, bike racks and LED display boards displaying arrival and departure times for trains, buses and planes, LACMTA said. A pedestrian sidewalk and transit plaza will be built next to the station platform and San Fernando Boulevard.

The new station is also within walking distance of the planned airport terminal facility that is set to replace the current terminal, as well as a proposed mixed-use development in the area.

"[LACMTA] and its partners are making good on their promise to improve connections with airports countywide including Burbank, one the nation's most convenient airports," said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, a LACMTA Board Member.

Metrolink's Antelope Valley Line runs between Los Angeles Union Station, the Northeast San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita, Palmdale and Lancaster seven days a week. The station is the second to serve Hollywood Burbank Airport.

"With the opening of the Burbank Airport-North Metrolink Station, passengers from Lancaster to Los Angeles will now be able to connect to Hollywood Burbank Airport on the Antelope Valley Line," said Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority President and Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek. "We're proud to be the only Southern California airport to offer plane-to-train connections at two train stations, including the existing Burbank Airport-South Station, which serves passengers from East Ventura to Union Station on Metrolink's Ventura County Line and from San Luis Obispo to San Diego on Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner."

"[LACMTA] is glad to build and be a major funding partner for this new transit connection to the Hollywood Burbank Airport," said LACMTA CEO Phillip A. Washington. "Metro's transportation transformation will continue to deliver more and better options to many of our important regional destinations."

Metrolink CEO Art Leahy added that the new "train-to-plane connection" provides an opportunity for people to save time and money spent for parking by utilizing Metrolink service.

The project is part of LACMTA's Regional Rail Program, which aims to advance projects that improve regional rail mobility in Los Angeles County.